| When it comes to the confirmation of the summit of the development of thepoetry in Song Dynasty since the last years of North Song Dynasty, people generallyfavor “Yuanyou”(the most famous theories are Chen Yan’s Sanyuan Theory and ShenZengzhi’s Sanguan Theory). In fact,“Yuanyou” is a complicated concept with clearpolitical tendency, which refers to a political stage in the social reform in the middleand late North Song Dynasty. From the political confrontations between “Xifeng” inthe early years of Emperor Zhezong and “Yuanyou” to the ban on regarding poetry as“Yuanyou” in the years of Chongning when Emperor Huizong is in power, followingthe conflicts between the new party and the old one which last for centuries, all resultsin the poets’ political differentiation. Meanwhile, the concepts-“Xifeng” and“Yuanyou”-corresponding to the new party and the old one also influence thecriticism of poetry and gradually form the opposition between “Xifeng” and“Yuanyou” on the utterance level.The poetic circle of Qingli which innovates and weeds out abuses is always thecenter of people’s attention, as well as that of Yuanyou with lots of outstanding poetsand great fame. Bold and decisive political reforms of the poetic circle of Xifengperiod is paid more attention to while there’s little interest in the situation of thepoetic creation and literary activities are veiled by political ones. Moreover, in theyears of Xifeng when Wang Anshi is in power, people consider Jingshu as the root ofliterature-”study for application”-and make use of the Chinese imperial examinationto abolish poetry and examine Jingyi and Lunce, integrating literature into Jingshu asthe political belief and the essence of practice. Therefore, it prohibits the sounddevelopment of literature and has often been criticized since then. If the situation ofthe poetic creation in the years of Xifeng is fully studied, it’s clear that the marvelouspoets characterized by Wang, Su and Huang are in full bloom. Meanwhile, activitiesof poetic groups around the country are prosperous. Thus, it is the crucial period ofthe development for poetry of North Song Dynasty, and it’s the “growing season” andthe most creative and constructive stage(Some scholars believe all features of Song Dynasty show themselves clearly and are formed during this period). In terms ofYuanyou, it’s the lasting of this summit and the “harvest season”. Consequently,reviewing and reconsidering the poetic circle of Xifeng period is of great necessity.The essay selects Three Wangs of Linchuan (Wang Anshi, Wang Anguo and WangAnli) as the basis and subject of the study, attempting to use the single case topromote the comprehensive study. Three reasons are as follows:Above all, before the study goes deeper, faced with the various and complicatedsituation of literary circle, we usually judge by our impressions, which are superficial,one-sided, even behind the times and far from the reality. Additionally, the historicalmaterials of Xifeng period are so scattering and messy that it’s hard to organize andinterpret them. Thus, there is plenty of time-consuming documentation to do before agood grasp of history and the actual situation of literary circle That is the reason whyonly when we deepen the study of the single case can we promote and improve themajor study.In addition, there’s no doubt that Wang Anshi is the leader in political andliterary circles in Xifeng period. The talents from the Wangs of Linchuan, influencedby him, stand out in the poetic circle in this period and have the rare and distinctivetypicalness of the family, which draws lots of attention. As a result, the Wangscharacterized by Three Wangs of Linchuan, because of the special politicalopportunities and historical background, are also regarded as the great figures shapingthe characteristics of the poetry in Xifeng period, and play roles as “symbol” and“bridge”. The intensive study of the case is very likely to promote the whole study.Last but not least, regarding the discussion of the poetic circle of Xifeng period,the former studies concentrate more on the poetic circle of Bianjing represented bynew party writers like Wang Anshi and that of Luoyang characterized by old partywriters such as Si Maguang, Shao Yong and Cheng Yi. The poetic circle ofHuangzhou regarding Su Shi as the key figure and influencing others around is alsofocused on. The perspective of the study is fairly reasonable, for it’s set in the disputes among the parties. Wang Anshi, the leader of the new party, however, is the mainfocus of the study instead of the Wangs. The Wangs are always known for literature.Anguo and Anli are the outstanding figures of their generation. However, owing to thecomplex political factors, the Wangs have their ups and downs. Therefore, thedocuments surviving from earlier times are missed terribly, including Anguo’s andAnli’s works, which blurs the reality of the poetic circle more or less. Moreover,considering that Wang Anshi distinguishes himself by the excellence and fame in hisfamily, his two brothers’ reputation and status are also shaded, as Hu Yinglin said.Therefore, the essay also considers rebuilding Three Wangs of Linchuan’s literaryworld, which is the focus of the study as well. The thesis will involve other principalpolitical and literary figures and discuss them from different perspectives in order toform the culture of Xifeng period.As a result, the first chapter of the thesis takes various factors of the developmentand ripeness of the literature in Xifeng period into consideration, including thepolitical background, regional culture, personal experiences and literary legacy.Among those, the big picture of the times and the authors’own life experiences enjoythe most direct connection with the development of the literature. It is the generalcultural circumstances of a certain period and the creation of each individual thatmake a difference to the formation and evolution of the style and features of theliterature during that period. Since the years of Xining of North Song Dynasty, theliterature is the one for a certain period. The creation of Three Wangs ofLinchuan(Wang Anshi, Wang Anguo and Wang Anli) is also in this period andaffected deeply by its context and customs, especially the political background of theconfrontations between the new party and the old party which influences the life,minds and the creation of the writers greatly. Given that, studying the literaryactivities of the study object and other literary phenomenon involved in the culturalcontext of Xifeng period is what this thesis means.In the background of the cultural boom in Jiangxi in Song Dynasty, taking therising, culminating and decaying of the Wangs of Linchuan historically and politically as the main clue, the essay attempts to promote the study of the subject by discussingregional and family culture, considering Three Wangs of Linchuan as a whole in thesame background and involving their personalities and interpersonal relationships asto study the environment of their creation and condition of their life.The essay aims at deepening the study by finding out the intention of the cultureand poetry which is neglected in many aspects about Wang Anshi, intending to becreative based on a large number of studies on the poetry of Wang Anshi. Take WangWei and Liu Zongyuan who are rarely mentioned in the theory of poetry by WangAnshi as an example. They, however, have a lot in common, such as life experiences(affected by political incidents), thoughts (accepting both Confucianism andBuddhism with the change of their minds), the themes of creation (landscape poetry),type(a poem of eight lines, each containing five or seven characters, with a strict tonalpattern and rhyme scheme) and styles (elegant, delicate and splendid), which areworthy of comparative study. Thus, discussing the alteration of styles and features ofpoetry in Tang and Song Dynasty is of great benefit. Considering that the study ofWang Anshi is so comprehensive that it’s hard to come up with completely innovativetheory, the thesis selects four aspects discussed by predecessors, desiring to findingout the characteristics of Wang Anshi which are scarcely known or discussed. With nodoubt, compared with the abundant studies about Wang Anshi, this essay is just asmall part of the total.The essay focuses on Xifeng-Yuanyou which enjoys more intention in thecultural context in Song Dynasty. When it comes to the confirmation of the summit ofthe development of the poetry in Song Dynasty since the last years of North SongDynasty, people generally favor “Yuanyou”. In fact,“Yuanyou” is a complicatedconcept with clear political tendency, which refers to a political stage in the socialreform in the middle and late North Song Dynasty. From the political confrontationsbetween “Xifeng” in the early years of Emperor Zhezong and “Yuanyou” to the banon regarding poetry as “Yuanyou” in the years of Chongning when Emperor Huizongis in power, following the conflicts between the new party and the old one which last for centuries, all results in the poets’ political differentiation. Meanwhile, theconcepts-“Xifeng” and “Yuanyou”-corresponding to the new party and the old onealso influence the criticism of poetry and gradually form the opposition between“Xifeng” and “Yuanyou” on the utterance level. Moreover, in the years of Xifengwhen Wang Anshi is in power, people consider Jingshu as the root of literature-”studyfor application”-and make use of the Chinese imperial examination to abolish poetryand examine Jingyi and Lunce, integrating literature into Jingshu as the politicalbelief and the essence of practice. Therefore, it prohibits the sound development ofliterature and has often been criticized since then.Therefore, based on the poetrydiscourse system of Xifeng-Yuanyou, differentiating and analyzing them, looking intoand organizing the deeper reasons thoroughly why the poetry of Yuanyou period playsthe major role and the ins and outs of the course is of extreme significance.Additionally, the fuzzy definition and conclusion formed in the politicalconfrontations and judgment of value is of great necessity for the understanding andestimating the achievement of poetry of Xifeng period objectively. According to that,this essay argues the critical effects and substantive meaning that Xifeng periodenjoys in the development of poetry of Song Dynasty.The fifth chapter analyzes thoroughly the transform of the style of poetry withthe change of the intellectuals’ minds, represented by Three Wangs of Linchuan andbased on the new party and old party in the political and cultural background ofXifeng period. As has been stated above, the phenomenon that intellectuals make fierycomments on current affairs thrive again in the years of Qingli when EmperorRenzong is in power. The change of the political situation of Xining and Yuanfengperiod, the alteration of policies in Yuanyou period and the intellectuals’ succeedingand developing are also discussed before. Nevertheless, while the active participationhas been seen, the party members’ fear of getting into trouble due to the politicalconfrontations should be attached importance to as well. Desiring to be appointed andpromoted to an official and fearing getting into trouble, the contradictory state ofmind is highlighted among writers and poets in Song Dynasty, especially During Xining, Yuanfeng and Yuanyou periods. During Xifeng and Yuanyou period, thewriters and poets shift their focus to perfecting the techniques of poetry in order toease the pain caused by their political ambitions which aren’t achieved. Meanwhile,the tendency of their thoughts and the sensation tend to be peaceful, modest andgentle. With more attention paid to the elegance of the intellectuals, the reading, theZen thoughts and Guange style gets popular increasingly.These features emerge in thecreation of Wang Anshi, Wang Anguo and Wang Anli in Xifeng period. Wang Anshi’sexpressing his sorrow by using a peaceful poetic style during his last years, Anguo’sprasing Guange style, Anli’s learned and accomplished manner when he is a ministerediting books and his pleasant attitude towards elites reflect the change of literaturefrom Xifeng period to Yuanyou period, which is regarded as the epitome of thealteration of the intellectuals. That inspires and means quite a lot to the further studyof the meaning of the beginning of Yuanyou poetry after the poetry circle of Xifengwhich marks the new era. |
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